Charges link 4 to mall weapons

By TIMES WIRES
Published May 18, 2007

SALT LAKE CITY - Four people, including a U.S. Army soldier, were indicted Thursday in connection with a teenage Bosnian immigrant's February shooting rampage that left five people dead at a shopping mall.

The indictments charge three people in the illegal sale of a .38-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun to a juvenile, and a gun dealer for selling a 12-gauge shotgun with a pistol grip. Both of the weapons were used in the rampage, authorities said.

Sulejman Talovic, 18, killed five people and left four others with bullet wounds at Trolley Square on Feb. 12. He was killed by police who rushed to the Salt Lake City mall to stop the massacre.

'Not really a bad guy, ' but he stays in jail

CAMDEN, N.J. - A man charged with helping five others plot a terrorist attack on Fort Dix will not be freed on bail, a judge ruled Thursday.

Agron Abdullahu, 24, had asked U.S. Magistrate Joel Schneider to be released from custody into house arrest. Prosecutors argued that he was likely to flee and was a serious risk to the community's safety.

"I'm not really a bad guy, " Abdullahu said. "If I could leave I would definitely go back to my old life. ... I would never do anything to harm this country."

Abdullahu, a legal U.S. resident, is charged with helping illegal immigrants obtain weapons, an offense punishable by up to 10 years in prison. "He was an integral part of the plan to attack Fort Dix, " Schneider said.

Marine general seeks ethics push

WASHINGTON - The Marine Corps commandant is admonishing his officers to stress a need for ethics on the battlefield after a survey found Marines a bit more likely than soldiers to condone torture to gain information or save a comrade's life.

Gen. James Conway said Thursday that he wants to examine whether Marines are more prone to not follow military rules of engagement, and he is telling his officers to make sure their Marines understand the importance of ethics in the fight.

Beef products recalled in 15 states

KALAMAZOO, MICH. - A meat company is recalling 129, 000 pounds of beef products in 15 states because of possible E. coli contamination, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.

The meat products are made by Davis Creek Meats and Seafood and were made for Gordon Food Service stores, the USDA said Wednesday on its Web site. The beef products were made between March 1 and April 30 and were shipped to distribution centers and retailers in Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

The items under recall include boxes of mechanically tenderized steaks and ground beef of different weights. The boxes are labeled "Est. 1947A."

Fingerprints match Padilla's, expert says

MIAMI - Seven fingerprints on a purported al-Qaida training camp application came back as matches to suspected terrorist operative Jose Padilla, a government expert testified Thursday. But Secret Service fingerprint specialist John Morgan also acknowledged under defense questioning that there was no way to be certain when the fingerprints were placed on the "mujahedeen data form" recovered by the CIA in Afghanistan.